The Boston Globe has an article today about Josh Reddick feeling he’s getting ragged on by the Red Sox fans at the games. In the article, Reddick said that he felt like he would get a better reception from the fans, since he has played with the Sox for parts of three seasons. However, the fans were giving him the same ragging that they give most every visitor player.
Reddick was traded to the A’s in a package for Andrew Bailey and Ryan Sweeney this offseason. I think it worked out for all (major) parties involved, Reddick, Bailey, and Sweeney. Reddick is now the everyday right-fielder for the A’s and is batting third in the line-up. Sweeney’s been playing great (when he actually plays) baseball in this first month. While Bailey’s been injured this season, I believe the Red Sox still have him under contract for next year as well (will have to double-check that).
Reddick’s stated in the article:
I didn’t get a whole lot of love from the fans. I mean, they’ve been on me pretty good the last two days. I thought I was liked a little bit more than that. But they’ve been ragging me pretty good out there.
I may be a little biased because I’ve always like Reddick. When he would get hot at the plate, he was able to carry the Red Sox, even for just a short time. Granted, in his three years with the Red Sox, Reddick batted .247. I’m not saying that deserved a standing ovation or a great round of applause (which I think Beltre still gets with Red Sox fans, even if he was only on the team for a year). But, a nice gesture would’ve been to applaud him like they would… Nick Punto, maybe.
I follow Reddick on Twitter, and I happened to look at recent Tweets this morning at 4:30 as I waited for the “Severe Thunderstorm” that we had a warning for to roll in (it never did). I noticed that Reddick was re-tweeting a lot of tweets about what people thought of him, all positive. I notice this every once in awhile and usually just pass over them, but there were quite a bit in a row from Reddick(there was even one comment about Reddick’s dad being a baker and him having nice buns. Really, who says that?).
On the other hand, I read some of the comments to this article. A few comments stated that at Reddick’s first at-bat, he did get a nice applause. Is it possible that Reddick feels he should be loved like Pedro Martinez, Nomar, Masterson (he still gets applause, right?)? Or even players like Beltre?
Reddick isn’t even on the same level of “Red Sox hate” as Johnny Damon. Damon does get booed at Fenway Park, and while I’m not sure he deserves all of it, there is a reason. Damon, afterall, went to the Yankees on his own and refused to be traded to the Red Sox from the Tigers because he had been “booed.” I’m sorry, Damon, but you signed with the enemy. Red Sox fans are not going to be happy about that.
Essentially, Reddick was a stop-gap. He filled in for the oft-injured JD Drew, was a holdover for Ryan Kalish, and had a Darnell McDonald-type of role. The right-field outfielder role was never handed to him, nor did he ever “earn” it. I never thought Reddick was in the long-term plans, but I do think he was well-liked. He may have been a bit eccentric (he does own an official WWE belt, after all), but he wasn’t a great player, by any means.
So, I guess I don’t really know where I stand on this issue. If it’s true Reddick was getting the same ragging from the fans as any other player on the A’s, then that’s because he’s on the opposing team. He never played a significant role with the Red Sox, but he was well-liked. If I was at the game, I would applauded for him the first time he was up.
I would not have booed him or told him he sucked or whatever else fans say to get on the opposing team (I’m a fan of baseball), but I probably would not have applauded for him every time he came to the plate. I am a Red Sox fan after all.
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